In short:
A bank holding more than $800 million in Paraguayan public deposits has collapsed, plunging the country into a political crisis.
asserted
bank → hold → crisis
Lawmakers have rejected President Santiago Peña's resignation after a unanimous vote to begin impeachment proceedings against him.
asserted
Lawmakers → reject → him
Paraguay’s attorney general has ordered three criminal investigations into Ueno Bank, including the president's connection to the digital lender.
asserted
general → order → lender
It only took two days for Paraguayan president to resign after a banking crisis blocked nearly half of the small South American country's population from accessing their money.
asserted
crisis → take → money
The central bank's takeover of Ueno Bank plunged the country into a political crisis, sparking protests and a move to unanimously launch impeachment proceedings against President Santiago Peña in Congress.
The US-allied leader beat them to the punch by resigning on X minutes beforehand.
asserted
leader → plunge → minutes
How did Paraguay get here?
asserted
Paraguay → get → ?
It all came crashing down on Monday when regulators investigating Ueno Bank uncovered alleged excessive lending to companies linked to its controlling shareholder, Grupo Vázquez, and expenses wrongly counted as assets.
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regulators → come → assets
By Tuesday, the central bank seized control of the digital lender due to a severe capital shortfall, and authorities issued arrest warrants for eight of Ueno's top executives.
asserted
authorities → seize → executives
The bank's president Miguel Vazquez turned himself into police and central bank president Carlos Carvallo stepped down at Mr Pena's request.
asserted
Carvallo → turn → request
Mr Carvallo, who was president of Ueno's predecessor, was appointed the top job at the central bank — the agency charged with supervising Ueno — by Mr Peña.
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who → appoint → Peña
As recently as last month, Mr Peña defended Ueno which reported holding roughly $800 million in public deposits, including money from the state pension and health fund and the operators of Paraguay's giant hydro-electric dams.
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which → defend → dams
Mr Peña, a former International Monetary Fund economist, also owned shares in the group that controlled the digital lender until last year.
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that → own → year
Peña scrambles to contain the situation
On Wednesday Mr Peña enacted a law to return most deposits within five days.
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Peña → scramble → days
Thirty-five lawmakers meanwhile filed a motion to impeach him.
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lawmakers → file → him
By Thursday, Mr Pena's own Colorado Party turned against him, with party leader Horacio Cartes announcing that he backed impeachment.
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he → turn → impeachment
The Chamber of Deputies opened a session to debate the motion, but no sooner had it started than Mr Peña posted a video on X announcing his resignation.
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Peña → open → resignation
"I want to apologise to the people if at any point I failed.
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I → want → point
It was never my intention to betray the trust you placed in me,"he said.
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you → betray → me,"he
Minutes later, the 78 deputies present unanimously approved the impeachment motion against Mr Peña.
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deputies → approve → Peña
Both houses have since declined to accept his offer to resign, pressing forward with a trial that could result in the president's removal from office.
uncertain
that → decline → office
Opposition senators said allowing him to resign would preserve his eligibility to become a senator for life and grant him with legal protections preventing his prosecution.
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him → say → prosecution
If the presidency remains vacant, Vice President Pedro Alliana will complete the term until 2028.
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Alliana → remain → 2028
Peña faces criminal investigation
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Peña → face → investigation
Paraguay's Attorney General Emiliano Rolón Fernández has ordered three criminal investigations into the Ueno Bank crisis, including allegations involving Mr Peña and other current and former government officials.
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Fernández → order → Peña
The investigations will examine authorities' oversight of the bank, their handling of its failure and the placement of public funds in the lender.
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investigations → examine → lender
Mr Peña said he would cooperate with investigators.
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he → say → investigators
"Whatever the outcome of this process, I will act with responsibility and respect for the Constitution," he said on X.
What is Ueno?
Ueno Bank, exploded from an obscure local fintech company into a mid-sized Paraguayan bank in less than five years, claiming more than 60 per cent of Paraguay's adults as customers.
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Bank → act → customers
Ueno Bank says it has over 3 million customers in a country of 6.4 million people and manages millions of dollars in pensions and other state funds.
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it → say → pensions
Soon after winning its banking licence in 2023, Ueno seemed to be everywhere.
asserted
Ueno → win → 2023
The digital lender, a rebranded version of a decades-old finance company, lured customers with generous cash-back offers on groceries as it grew to more than 70 locations, sponsored Paraguay's national soccer team and plastered its name on the country's main stadium.
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it → lure → stadium
The bank's rapid expansion made it one of Paraguay's most visible financial success stories.
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it → make → stories
Its collapse has triggered days of protesting in the country.
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collapse → trigger → country
"Santiago Peña and the Colorado Party have stolen all our savings," said Luis Pineda, one of the protesters marching to Congress.
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Pineda → steal → Congress
Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowds who shouted "give us our money back".
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who → use → money
The Aporia
